Marathon Aftermath

It had been quite a journey making it from that failed 39.3 series in the spring of 2012 to the start of the Dublin Marathon.

I thought that few people knew what an emotional toll that failure took on me. And then in June of this year, I thought I had gotten it together, but a 10K turned into a 5K when I was in too much pain. I seriously doubted whether or not I could do this.

To be completely honest, if I hadn't made the commitment to MOCSA, I probably wouldn't have.

So when I finally signed into Facebook hours after I crossed the finish line, I was astonished. That silly little globe thing had the number 28 hanging from it.

Twenty-eight.

I'd never been this popular. First, there were the good luck and cheering messages throughout the race.

Then, there was the special photo from MOCSA, just for me:

And then, finally, there was this:

All of that support, plus many more words of congratulations and cheers. I was so astonished, touched, and overwhelmed that I even forgot to post a thank you to everyone until the next day.

They say there is something that happens after you complete a marathon called 'post-marathon depression.' I have no clue what the heck that is. I feel like I'm still on a marathon high. I still go back and read all of those messages and feel incredibly lucky to know as many wonderful people as I do. I still put on that shirt and stand up a little straighter and that Wonder Woman costume ... well, for about half a second I felt silly when I put it on. Now, it's simply my racing uniform. I may never wear anything else on race day.

So, this is a lot of words and photos to say this:

Thank you, again and again and again. Really, your support of this entire journey has been more than I ever could have hoped for.

... one final Ireland blog about the last few days and then ... a 10K RR coming up :)